A Little Birdie Told Me
by mikmik121
Summary: Hetalia AU-Gilbert Beilschmidt loves his job as an Elementary School teacher. When he's fired, he realizes that he'd do anything to be a father. So when a little birdie that flew into his room one night turns into a 5 year old boy, mayhem is bound to happen! PrussiaxHuman!Child!Gilbird
1. Epolouge

It didn't take a philosopher, a brain scientist or even a psychiatrist to tell the Gilbert Beilschmidt was obviously depressed. Only recently, the German man was fired from his job as a school teacher and ever since, the albino man has locked himself into his room.

His younger brother, Ludwig Beilschmidt let his brother stay in his home until he could uphold himself again. Gilbert hadn't even noticed how much time passed until the landowners were beating down the door.

Much like before, the German took refuge in his old room, the room he lived in before giving the home to his brother, and curled up into darkness once more.

The only one who seemed to show worry was Ludwig. Some of his old coworkers were obliviously wondrous as to the whereabouts of their fellow teacher. Wanting to keep his new-found depression hidden from the public's prying eyes, he simply stated that he was taking vacation elsewhere.

Months passed before Ludwig actually gathered the courage to face his brother. Up until that day, Ludwig had been leaving trays of food in. Although only half the meal would ever be gone, he was still content that his brother was at least not starving himself to death.

Cracking the blackened door open, Ludwig peered in and lit the room up with a simple flick of a switch. Gilbert was curled up in a fetal-position on his bed of black and white, covering his crimson eyes from the light Ludwig just inflicted on them.

They both sat in silence for a moment before Ludwig decidedly entered on his own accord. He strode over to his brother's bedside and sat down. The bed squeaked with old age and sunk under the weight of the taller and more well-build blond German.

It was near impossible to believe the two could be related in any way at all. Ludwig was much taller and built of pure muscle. In comparison, his older brother was shorter and had less muscle-mass on him. Second, while (on a normal day at least) Gilbert was a goofball and maybe even a derived nutcase, his brother was strict and followed every rule there was to a T.

Ludwig rested a hand on his brother's shoulder, rubbing it. "Listen, bruder, I know I can't understand what you're feeling right now but...if you want to talk, I'm here." There was no immediate response to this comforting statement. "I know you're depressed but-"

"West, I failed all those kids..." The blond's voice came out as a mere whisper, completely uncharacteristic for someone who was well-known for his boisterous and loud voice. "Those kids loved me West, I liked them too...it's like I've lost an extended family..."

Ludwig sighed, moving his brother closer to him. He wasn't good with talking about personal things, and if his brother started getting emotional, the only thing he could even do was just listen and nod awkwardly.

Unable to say anything, Ludwig just up and headed towards the door. As he went to shut it, he stopped. "I know it's hard bruder, but everything happens for a reason. I'm still here if you need me." He slipped out silently, going to his study to hopefully figure out a way to cheer his brother up.

As soon as he left, Gilbert grabbed a pillow and buried his face in it so if anyone came in, they wouldn't be able to see the tears now welling up in his eyes less they break in without consent. Something inside him hurt. Maybe it was the emptiness of not having a child to care for.

Growing up, Gilbert always loved spending time with his brother, that being the main reason why he wanted to become an elementary school teacher. Hearing that he was being laid off tore him to pieces. It wasn't even about the income, it was about the close attachment and devotion he had to these kids. Without that, he didn't even know who he was.

* * *

There was a pecking at the window, waking Gilbert up. He had no prior idea how long he had been asleep for before the bird started beckoning to enter the room. Lifting himself off the bed, he opened the window and allowed the golden, plump little thing to fly in through the window.

It landed on his shoulder, snuggling into the crook of his neck and actually allowing the man to smile for the first time in about 3 months. Holding his finger towards it, the creature perched itself upon his finger, his little talons poking at the epidermis of his skin with gentleness behind it.

Gilbert lifted the bird up, looking into it's beady black eyes with a normal grin on his face,"You're a pretty awesome bird, aren't you?" It chirped, only it was unlike any noise he had ever heard; a deep chirping. "Well, an awesome bird like you needs an awesome name. Gilbird. You're now Gilbird."

As if in reply, it chirped once more. "Alrighty then Girlbird, you can come sleep with the awesome me tonight. I'll leave the window open if you wanna get outta here for some fresh air or something." In mere moments, Gilbert had set a small bed up out of an old bed sheet coiled up with a small spot in the middle for the bird to nestle into.

Gilbird refused to leave his side, stubbornly sticking to the German as if life depended on it. Seeing no results, Gilbert laid in bed, the small bird settling itself on the pillow beside his head. Once more, it chirped in agreement as to where it lay.

"You can chill for as long as you want bud. We'll be best friends...I had a lot of friends but I can't see them anymore. Sometimes, I really wish I could be a dad...but whenever I meet a girl, it's a chick who wants to get with me for the night and ditch. I want a real wife and children...everyone says I'd make a good _vati, _but none of the girls want to marry...

"No one knows this though, don't tell them." The bird was sleeping peacefully, hearing his new master's voice calmly speaking to him for a few moments.

Gilbert smiled, kissing the bird's head and looking out to the stars,"I wish I was a _vati..._that's all I ever really want it to have _kinder_ of my own." His eyelids fell heavily, his head falling to the side and his white hair covering his face and the moonlight shining on his face.

Maybe he hadn't heard the saying,'Be careful what you wish for.' Well, he was about to learn that lesson the hard way.


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome Back

It was a short while before the Prussian woke up. It was the middle of the night, a storm starting outside and rain easily audible through the open window. Sighing, he went to move slightly but brushed against another life-form.

Recollecting to before he went to bed, he brushed it off, knowing it was just little Gilbird. Shrugging it off, he went to the window and shut it loudly. The second he did, he heard a hiccup and sniffle from behind him.

Slowly, he turned his head to find a small child curled up in the sheets, his hair was shaggy and yellow, eyes red as blood and skin almost paper-white. The only thing he wore was a yellow hoodie, the hood over his hair but he quickly clutched at it, pulling the cloth over his eyes.

Gilbert stood in his spot before slowly moving towards the young boy in his bed. He climbed on his bed, almost zombie-like. All he could do was stare at the child in his bed until he could register an odd though. Gilbird was nowhere to be seen and in this storm, he couldn't have flown out.

"G...Gilbird...?" He nearly breathed the name, his dried lips purse. Hearing the name, the child released his hold on the hood covering his eyes, pouring a look of confusion into Gilbert's own. "Y...You're Gilbird, aren't you _kind_...?"

It took a moment before the child nodded, sniffling once more. Gilbert couldn't move, his eyes were stuck on the young boy's figure. He couldn't have been more than three or four, mustn't have been more than a chick when he flew in. But that still didn't explain why he was a child now.

Bringing a hand onto the child's cheek, he noticed them fill with shock and quickly pulled away. Tears sprung to the brim of the child's red eyes and he quickly reached out and grabbed Gilbert's hand. The sudden introduction of tears into the situation made Gilbert scared.

Before the child could even so much as whimper, Gilbert took the boy's small body and started cradling him closely. "Sh...don't cry...I'm not mad...it's okay..."

He tears didn't fade and in seconds, he was bawling into Gilbert's shoulder. With experience on his side, Gilbert shifted the boy into a position comfortable for him to grip Gilbert's shirt. As Gilbert anticipated, the boy grabbed his shirt and cried openly.

Now holding him well-enough, Gilbert jounced him gently in his arms, rubbed his back and hummed in a low voice. Ludwig was going to find out one way or another, whether he decided to come into the room tomorrow morning to try and be 'brotherly' again or when he found Gilbert getting the child something to eat.

In the midst of his thoughts, he barely could notice the boy in his arms had already fallen asleep, exhausted from crying out. Smiling, he laid the boy in his bed, covering him with the previously-warmed sheets, being sure to kiss his forehead before resting beside the boy. For good measure, Gilbert re-tucked the sheets and snuggled with the boy beside him.

"_Gut nacht mein kind._.."

* * *

Gilbird woke up surprisingly early for a boy his age, quickly crawling out of bed as the morning sun began to stream through the curtains. The door hung slightly ajar on its hinges, making it easy for the boy to slip out of the room and into the halls.

The hallway was pretty bland; white walls, wooden floors and a carpet running down it. At the end stood stairs of wood and white bars to keep from falling over. Scampering from the doorway, he went to the side and carefully slid down each step, being careful as to not hurt himself.

When he made it to the bottom floor, he noticed someone else was downstairs with him. There was a sizzling noise in the kitchen and a warm, delicious aroma wafting from that general area. His stomach grumbled, telling him to go closer to the food.

Unable to resist, he wrapped his arms around his annoying stomach and followed his nose. Maneuvering around the home, he finally made it to the point where he could peek around the corner and see a tall, blond-haired man cooking, the blond hairs hanging in his face obviously irritating him.

Pulling the hood over his messy hair once more, he went in nervously and went to him. Grabbing the man's shirt, he looked up with innocent eyes. Although, his reaction to finding him there was much different than he wanted.

The man's blue eyes widened at the boy, jumping back slightly. "What did he do? There wasn't a kid in my house yesterday...damn it..._**Gilbert!**__"_

Gilbird jumped as the man's voice hit a crescendo and quickly, fresh tears sprung into his eyes. A sob escaped his lips before he started full-out crying in the middle of the kitchen, sending the German man into a worry fit of his own,"Nein, nein...stop crying! Stop crying...!"

His loud voice offered no support in helping the child to coax. Upstairs, Gilbert had just arisen from his sleep, hearing his name being called sharply from below the house. With the introduction of a child's cry, his face lost the only colors it had left.

He threw the covers off the bed and quickly ran down the stairs, rounding the corner and running into the kitchen where Gilbird was wailing and Ludwig was awkwardly kneeling on the ground trying to calm him. Although he wasn't nearing the child, just trying to tell him to calm down.

Gilbert quickly went over, falling to his knees and sliding into the child, embracing him. The child was too shocked and suddenly silenced himself as Gilbert shushed him,"Calm down, calm down, it's okay _kind_...hug _vati_...it's okay..."

The boy nodded, grabbing onto Gilbert's shirt as he was lifted off the ground. Gilbert looked furiously at his brother,"How dare you make awesome little Gilbird cry like that! He's just a little kid West! He's probably just hungry or something. Is that so Gilbird? Are you hungry?"

He looked up innocently, nodding his head and holding him empty stomach. Gilbert's parental instincts died and he looked back towards his shocked brother and sighed. "I'm sorry West...this kind of happened...last night...I mean...! I didn't do anything to _make_ him, per say, I just-"

"Tell me over breakfast." Ludwig interrupted, not wanting to fluster himself over nothing. Going back to his food, he looked over towards the two, Gilbert smiling, trying to get the child to smile too. It seemed so normal, he really missed the old Gilbert now that he thought about it.

A small smile cornered his lips and he quietly whispered to himself.

"_Welcome back Gilbert..._"


End file.
